A high-stakes fraud case has emerged in Trinidad and Tobago, with the national Central Bank launching major legal action against a local construction company and its two top directors to recover nearly $18.8 million in misappropriated funds tied to a sophisticated forged government cheque scheme. The alleged scam, which dates back to late 2023, was only uncovered during a landmark audit following a shift in Central Bank leadership, shining a light on past access restrictions that blocked oversight officials from examining the bank’s full accounts.
According to court documents filed with the High Court on June 10, 2026, the defendants in the case are NiPat General Contractors Limited, its managing director Nigel Patterson Vincent, and company director Jackqui Watson-Vincent. The Central Bank, represented by former attorney general Anand Ramlogan of Freedom Law Chambers, is pursuing claims across multiple legal grounds including fraud, conspiracy, unjust enrichment and breach of trust, stemming from a $20 million cheque purportedly issued by the country’s Ministry of Planning and Development.
The bank’s formal statement of case lays out a clear timeline of the alleged fraud. On September 29, 2023, Vincent deposited the cheque, which was claimed to be drawn on the ministry’s Central Bank-held account and made payable to NiPat, at Republic Bank’s San Juan branch. The instrument was processed through the national Electronic Cheque Clearing System; after an initial query over an endorsement irregularity, Republic Bank re-submitted the cheque for clearing, and the Central Bank ultimately approved it, crediting the full $20 million to NiPat’s corporate account.
It was not until nearly a month later, on October 26, 2023, that the bank flagged the transaction as fraudulent, after Treasury Division officials confirmed the Ministry of Planning had never issued the cheque, held no outstanding debt to NiPat, and had never contracted the firm for any work or services. Forensic examination also confirmed that the signatures appearing on the cheque were forgeries, and under Trinidad and Tobago’s Bills of Exchange Act, such forged signatures are deemed legally inoperative and grant no right to claim the funds.
By the time the account was frozen at the Central Bank’s request, almost all of the funds had already been dispersed through a web of suspicious transfers. Court records show that between October 5 and October 25, 2023, NiPat issued 66 separate cheques, moving a total of $18.77 million out of the account. High-value transfers included $10 million to Naissal Construction and Maintenance Services Limited, $2.5 million to R and D Holdings Limited, more than $410,000 in direct payments to Nigel Vincent, $170,000 to Jackqui Watson-Vincent, and $400,000 routed back to NiPat itself. Only $1.23 million was left in the account when it was frozen, a sum that has since been recovered by the Central Bank, leaving a net loss of just over $18.76 million.
The fraud was not formally brought to light until early 2026, following a major shift in governance at the Central Bank. The fraudulent transaction occurred during the tenure of former governor Alvin Hilaire, whose term ended in June 2025. During his time in office, a public dispute revealed the Central Bank had blocked the Auditor General from accessing and auditing its full accounts. Hilaire’s successor, Larry Howai, took office in 2025 and immediately reversed that policy, granting Auditor General Jaiwantie Ramdass full, unrestricted access to the bank’s financial systems.
Ramdass flagged the two suspicious fraudulent cheques – the $20 million cheque at the center of the current lawsuit, and a second $25 million cheque – in a formal letter dated January 23, 2026, addressed to the Central Bank Governor. The bank has only launched formal legal action over the $20 million cheque to date. Ahead of filing the suit, the Central Bank issued a formal pre-action notice to the defendants on March 6, 2026. Defendants’ counsel Taradath Singh confirmed he had been retained to represent NiPat and the two Vincent directors in an email dated March 18, 2026, and requested an extension to respond to the pre-action letter, also confirming he had authority to accept legal service on his clients’ behalf.
The case has been assigned to High Court Justice Sherlanne Pierre. The Central Bank is seeking a full range of legal remedies, including full restitution of the misappropriated funds, damages for deceit and unlawful conspiracy, equitable compensation for breach of trust, a full court-ordered accounting of all profits gained by the individual defendants, a legal declaration that any remaining proceeds from the fraud are held in trust for the Central Bank, annual interest of up to 10% on the outstanding sum, and full coverage of all legal costs incurred by the bank.